The
Sun Never Sets on the British Empire, "Dominion over palm
and pine" Interesting and very detailed site on the statistics
of empire and decolonisation. Contains a fascinating working
clock to show how the sun "never does set!"

Decolonisation: A
casahistoria netguide in lecture note format. PDF file and
requires adobe reader. For more casahistoria netguide revision
go to IB/Alevel/K12
revision in the young casahistoria section.

The
Atlantic Charter text of the Churchill, FD Roosevelt
Charter of 1941 which appeared to promise an end to
colonialism. Includes an interesting facsimile of the
Churchill copy.

Colonies, Colonials and World War Two African, Indian,
Caribbean and other colonial troops and personnel played a
crucial role in supporting the Allied cause in World War
Two. So much so, that Marika Sherwood wonders whether the
war could have been won without their help. For the BBC

Stand at East. Sir Mark Tully presents a testimony
of the Indian Army. Links to the BBC radio series which
can be heard from the site.

The army history forgot
Article on the role of the
Indian soldiers who fought in the British Army. Despite
being hampered by antiquated equipment and Winston
Churchill's prejudice, they helped inflict a crushing
defeat on the Japanese. Mark Tully looks at their
crucial role in this Independent article

Empire Of the SunJapan's
conquest of Singapore shattered the myth of British
invincibility. By Jan
Morris

Christopher Bayly:
Forgotten Armies,
The Fall of British
Asia, 1941-1945

The main value of this tome to the general reader is most likely to
be the early chapters before the war. This outlines most clearly the
nature (arrogance and decadence?) of the British presence in Malaya
& Burma. The forgotten armies of the conflict are dealt with very
methodically, but this makes for drier reading.

Malaysian Emergency
Collection, Gathering of
(many - some dead) links regarding the conflict between the British Empire
and its Malayan government and troops and the armed insurgency by Malayan
Communists from 1948 into the 1960's. Use this for your background to the
Emergency. This site is no longer live - this links to the Wayback copy. If
an interesting link does not work, try copying it and pasting it
directly into your browser. §

Lessons from Malaya
looks at the Emergency from UK & military point of view to see what lessons
could be drawn from it for future conflicts§

Malaya,
1948: Britain’s ‘Asian Cold War’?
Lengthy article looks at British policy towards the communists and the
Hearts & Minds programme that emerged. Phillip Deery, International Center
for Advanced Studies Univ on New York

End of Empire:
Memoirs of a Malaysian communist guerrilla leader. Review of My Side
of History By Chin Peng, the leader of the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM)
which played an important role in two guerrilla struggles: in the second
world war, and in the post-war twelve-year ‘emergency’, in reality, a war
against British colonial rule in Malaya (now Malaysia) (2003). Usefully
detailed review article by Peter Taaffe.

Diego Garcia—How the Brits deported a nation By John
Pilger, Z Magazine,
22 October 2004. Pilgers article describes the forced
resettlement of the native Ilois islanders in 1973 after
their island was sold by the British to the US in return for
a discount on a nuclear submarine...

For the price of a missile
After more than 30 years of forced exile, former inhabitants of Diego
Garcia and two other islands challenge in the court their eviction by
the British government. Gives clear basic outline of the entire
situation. By Thomas Abraham, writing for Frontline,
India's National Magazine Feb, 2000.

Expulsion
of the Chagos Islanders 10 min 2014 BBC audio report
from their "Witness" series, shows how one man
endured exile after the British expelled his people from the
Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia to make way for an American
military base.

Diego Garcia, Marine Reserve Links to a
2009 WikiLeaks cable that revealed the British government
supported this project as a way of ensuring that the Chagossians
would never return.

Timeline
with basic but detailed linked explanations of the key events in Indian
steps to independence §

The 2-Nation Theory and Partition This
(not impartial) article concludes:"In hindsight, it is clear that
partition was largely a colonial trick: The
Muslim League had never proved its strength in any truly
democratic vote. The British knew that the Congress was under
great pressure to gain independence quickly. They exploited the
mood of impatience and weariness in the Congress to accept
partition even when it wasn't what the masses of the Indian
sub-continent had really wished for".
Article from
South Asian
History §

go to the casahistoria
Palestine Mandate
site. Sections on:
World War 1, Palestine & Origins of Mandate; The Palestine
Mandate; Living under the Mandate; The British in Palestine;
The End of the Mandate; Zionism; Jewish immigration; Land
Question; Zionist resistance to British & growing violence;
Failure of the Mandate; Documents & Key Resources

Into
Africa Two generations after Britain beat a hasty retreat from its
colonies in Africa, the British government is showing renewed interest
in the place. An article from the Economist, February, 2001

Britain: imperial nostalgia
"Britain not only conveniently still forgets the crimes of its imperial
past, but it has also again begun to romanticise its colonial achievements
and declare them a proper source of pride".
By Seumas Milne. From Le Monde diplomatique.

United Kingdom: A Reluctant Country of Immigration Excellent 2009
article provides historical overview of postwar immigration and perceptions.
By Will Somerville, Migration Policy Institute Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah,
Royal Commonwealth Society & Maria Latorre, Institute for Public Policy
Research. Published by Migration Information Source, a project of the
Migration Policy
Institute.

The plight of the island children Being absorbed into the "mother"
country did not remove imperial attitudes. Articles on the position of
Réunion children
sent to
France with promises of a better life in the 1960's. The 'deportees' now
demand an apology. Guardian, 2005.

Latin American Immigration to Southern Europe Outlines how the
increasing flow of people from Latin America to Southern Europe reflects
colonial and historical patterns as well as new economic opportunities. By
Beatriz Padilla & João Peixoto Univ of Lisbon (2007)